Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is the Title IV-E section intended to be used by county workers for entry into the CEC to replace invoices? Or to recap more specifically the costs that were already captured in the CEC? Is it expected that Community Based Organizations (CBOs) will invoice separately for services provided?
A: This data being entered in CWS-CARES for FFPSA service cost tracking is not intended to capture costs for CEC reporting. This is specifically to meet federal guidelines for the FFPSA program. CWS-CARES will not replace invoicing processes in V1. CDSS will provide additional guidance on what that will look like.
Q: Who from the CBO will submit data in the portal? Is it a data system manager, or a case manager entering information? Will only one CBO role be doing the management and submission of records?
A: The system will have different roles such as CBO admin, CBO supervisor and CBO worker. This is based on provider feedback we received that some folks in their organization are handling only administration, and others are managing services and entering info about delivery, etc. It will be up to the county/provider to determine who is assigned what permission in the portal. Portal Administrators have additional capabilities including updating provider profile information, submitting portal access requests, etc.
Q: What happens if the CBO attempts to provide services, but the family doesn't engage?
A: There will be functionality for the provider to report in the system that they did not provide services because the family did not engage.
Q: Will county fiscal departments be flagged that a Family Well Being Plan is ending?
A: Yes, there will be functionality for county fiscal to be notified when a plan is about to end.
Q: Is the expectation for approving each Cost Tracking Template submitted by the provider that the worker is checking that the cost details of each transaction are accurate? Or is a more rigorous review expected?
A: Yes, counties will approve cost tracking information that a provider submits. One of the big reasons the Product Team introduced the approval process is to allow counties the opportunity to reject or correct an inaccurate cost that may have been entered by a provider.
Q: For the cost-tracking template, is that a set unit rate and how many units are being provided?
A: Unit rates will be county-specific based on the county-specific contracts. CDSS plans to issue additional guidance via an ACL regarding this.
Q: Where there is a breakdown of the 'IV-E eligible percentage' and service units, the county does not currently know which unit would fill this out at a given point in time. How will counties enter this data?
A: Units of service for FFPSA EBPs will be statewide. The expectation is that the provider of the service enters the Number of Units provided along with the coordinating Unit of Service. The provider will also document the cost of the service. This does not include administrative-related costs associated with the service. CDSS will be issuing guidance to assist counties in this process of units of service.
Q: What does the 'FOP' label on one of the records mean?
A: The 'FOP' followed by a series of numbers indicates the individual person record ID number for the child or person receiving services.
Q: How immediate is the data exchange between the CalSAWS/CARES interface?
A: Data will exchange as close to real-time as possible. A nightly batch occurs as a 'failsafe' if any data does not go through in near real-time.
Q: Is assistance payment data read only in CWS-CARES? How about issuances outside of CalSAWS?
A: Yes, when CWS-CARES receives data from CalSAWS for issued assistance-related payments, we will only be able to read that information but not edit it. Issuances outside of CalSAWS will be read-only as well after they are uploaded into CWS-CARES via the supplemental form.